alk question

[spsfreak25]

ok so lastnight i tested my alk and i got 7. i was wondering why my green slimer was not so bright anymore. today i did a water change of 5g, waited 3 hours and tested again, i got a reading of 7 again. so i then dosed seachem reef buffer waited 3 hours and tested. it only went up to a 8. how is this possible? it should have went up more than that, right?

 

[Syntax1325]

7 seems a little low for an aquarium considering test kits have a fairly wide margin for error; however, NSW levels are right around that mark. Your alk could be as low as 6 or as high as 9.5 depending on the accuracy of the test kit you are using... I keep my alk at 8.4 (salifert) just to have a buffer zone in case my kit is off.

Why did your alk only go up 1 dkh? 1 dkh swing, in my opinion, is a lot for a reef tank. I would assume (but you should read the instructions clearly) that the dkh will rise according to the amount of buffer added.

Some questions that may indirectly answer your question...

Whats your Mag?
What brand of test kit are you using?
What's your salinity?
What's your Calcium?


I'm sure others will have many more questions to help you out as well.

 

[spsfreak25]

mag 1290
cal 380
salinity 1.025

most of my test kits are api except my mag test is red sea

i fixed those all with the water change. the only one that didnt really budge is my alk. the alk went up by 1 dkh cuz i dosed the seachem reef buffer. it says in big bold letters not to over dose. it says to use 1 level teaspoon for every 40g's. i have just thought about my nitrate being to low also but my pink table acro is happy as can be bright pink and all.

 

[Tweaked]

Wooa, rising a whole point in Alk in a few hours is not good. I see you have a 40g which makes parameter swings very easy. The key is stability. Match your params to your salt IMO!

 

[ryeguyy84]

Wooa, rising a whole point in Alk in a few hours is not good. I see you have a 40g which makes parameter swings very easy. The key is stability. Match your params to your salt IMO!

This ^^^

matching parameter to your salt makes life way easier.

 

[koral_lover]

I'd make a fresh batch of salt and test the ALK of the fresh mix....it likely is close to 7 since it didn't raise your alk much with the water change....as others have said I wouldn't raise your ALK more than .5 dkh in a 24 hour period.